On October 11, CCTV-4's "Dream Chasers of the Era" program featured an exclusive interview with Jin Jianxiang, Chairman and Chief Scientist of Cosin Solar Technology Co., Ltd. , telling the story of his journey of "chasing the light"—starting from scratch and heading to the Gobi to bring China's tower concentrated solar power (CSP) technology to the world's frontier.
About the Program: "Dream Chasers of the Era" is a documentary program closely tied to the mission and core priorities of China's 15th Five-Year Plan. It focuses on outstanding individuals who work quietly with dedication in key fields such as science and technology, aerospace, artificial intelligence, and humanities and history. These individuals are practitioners of the national strategy of achieving self-reliance in science and technology; their stories of struggle are the most vivid illustration of "personal destiny resonating with national development." The program presents, in a comprehensive and multi-dimensional way, how they integrate personal endeavor into national development, offering society a fine work that documents the Chinese spirit and inspires the nation's striving.
From a Leader in Industrial Control to a Pioneer of China's CSP
Before entering the CSP power generation field, Jin Jianxiang had worked in industrial automation for more than 30 years, leading his team to break foreign technology monopolies and becoming a leading figure in China's industrial control field. In 2010, standing atop his existing achievements, he chose not to remain in his comfort zone but turned his eyes toward the nearly blank field of CSP power generation in China. In Jin's view, this was a low-carbon technology pathway with grid-friendly characteristics that would help absorb renewable energy. "From the perspective of the entire power system, I believe that to achieve carbon neutrality in the future, a technology like this will definitely be needed," Jin recalled in the interview. At that time, China lacked mature technology, a complete industrial chain, and successful commercial application cases—the industry was in an almost "three-nil" state. Facing the reality of core technologies being controlled by others, insufficient engineering experience, and business models not yet proven, Jin resolutely chose to start from zero, investing his decades of accumulated expertise in automation, chemical engineering, and engineering into this new field required for the green transformation of the nation's energy and power systems.
From China's First to the World's Largest: Advancing the CSP Industry
Starting from a small pilot base, he turned judgment into verification. Leading his team to tackle key problems such as high-precision open-loop tracking and astronomical calculation, he spent one year working through the core process of light concentration and heat collection, laying the foundation for independent R&D to enter commercial power plants. In 2013, the Delingha 10 MW tower CSP plant was connected to the grid, becoming China's first commercially operated tower CSP plant. In 2018, the Delingha 50 MW tower CSP plant was connected to the grid. After the plant was put into operation, some equipment showed abnormal conditions. The team investigated them one by one and ultimately solved all issues within a year. Jin Jianxiang said, "These problems are merely a matter of being solved sooner or later; there is no problem that cannot be solved. By the end of 2019, we could proudly say that all core technical problems, engineering problems, and operational problems had been solved." This plant also became the world's first tower molten salt storage CSP plant whose actual power generation reached and exceeded the design value.
After more than a decade of continuous effort and innovation, Cosin Solar has established independent capabilities covering core technologies, key equipment, system integration, engineering construction, and power plant operation, with its overall technology reaching internationally advanced levels. From 10 MW and 50 MW demonstration projects to 100 MW and 200 MW-class projects successively being put into operation, China's tower CSP has completed the leap from technology validation to engineering demonstration application. Today, the under-construction Golmud 350 MW tower CSP plant is the world's largest single-unit CSP plant. What it validates is no longer any single technology, but the comprehensive capability of China's self-developed CSP technology to support ultra-large-scale engineering construction and stable operation. As of the end of June 2026, China has 32 operational and under-construction tower CSP projects, of which 16 involve Cosin Solar's participation in design and construction.
Answering the Future of National Energy with Long-Term Dedication
Starting from real needs, seeking the path through independent innovation, validating technology through engineering application, and then driving continuous innovation forward through industrialization. For Jin Jianxiang, entrepreneurship is not about chasing concepts, but about letting technology create real value—serving industrial development, energy transformation, and national needs. As the program concluded, "True passion means that after making choices and seeing the hardships clearly, one is still willing to persevere for the long term." From one person's choice to a common cause of a group of people, this "light-chasing" journey continues. Looking to the future, Jin Jianxiang will continue to lead Cosin Solar in bringing China's CSP to broader development, turning the fruits of independent innovation into real forces supporting the energy transition, and enabling China's CSP to go further and steadier on the world's energy map.